Hi everyone my name is Demitta and today
I'm just going to be talking to you guys
very very briefly about my concerns
about coming to Loughborough University
as a black student and
um any kind of thought process I had
before that, during the process, and while
I've been here.
So let's just get into the video. So I'm
currently in my final year
at Loughborough University, I've just finished a
placement year, I'm 21, and I study
accounting and financial management
for anybody who wants to know but yeah.
So I remember it was I think the end of
year 12 getting towards year 13 times I
think
and we were deciding what universities
we wanted to go to in
um sixth form. There's obviously a lot
that goes into picking a university and
deciding that you want to study there
for like three four years of your life.
So
I'm sure most people know that you take
the decision quite seriously and you
only get to apply to five anyway.
So I had my set like universities I
wanted to apply for but Loughborough was
definitely
at the top of my list. Um I think the top
factors that drew me to Loughborough
were the fact that it was quite high on
the league table,
so I wanted a reputable university to go
to. They offered amazing sport facilities
and um it was in the Midlands so close
to like
my friends and where they decided that
they wanted to go to and it just felt
like a place that I want to be at. I hadn't heard
of it
much before then but when I did my
research I was definitely like yeah this
is the place I want to be.
And then I got all my offers and it was
time to like make firm and insurance
and I think I remember one of my main
concerns was the fact that you don't
really
hear or you don't really see of any
black people at Loughborough,
as much as you do for other universities.
So for example I had a lot of friends
who were going to other universities and
um
those universities were part of my like
other four options but with them there's
a lot of emphasis on like the black
people there, the ACS,
like the involvement in like shows like
big clash, I don't know if anybody knows
about that kind of stuff but like
there was a lot of like hype around like
the black students in those universities
and I always thought like oh like
I wonder what Loughborough's like, like I
never hear anything, I never see anything.
So I did do my research and I found a
little bit like regarding like the ACS
and stuff but it just wasn't enough to
like make me feel like i'm gonna feel at
home.
So that was definitely one of my main
concerns. As well as that, um I remember
in my friendship group
specifically in school I didn't have
many people who actually put
Loughborough as their like
firm or insurance so, it was a lot of
like other Midland unis and we all kind
of just used to say like yeah we'll come
and visit you we'll come and see you but,
it's just not the same because you want
obviously people in your university.
And there were a lot of people from my
area as well where i grew up who were
aiming to come to Loughborough
University as well. So I kind of thought
oh yeah I'm gonna be great, like I've got
my little bubble, like I've got my
friends and you know it's gonna be great,
it's gonna be good.
Fast forward to like actually starting
uni it didn't end up that way at all.
So I had a very small circle of people
that I came to university with
and at the time I thought you know it's
fine like I've got these people
but I did have my concerns about feeling
like isolated and not like
making friends or not having people that
were gonna like vibe with me or like you
know
just get me, do you know what i mean like.
I had that concern I'm not gonna lie, I
did.
So during the summer that we did get our
A level results we were all able to join
like a big ACS group chat with everybody
who was
of African or Caribbean descent or like
anybody who wanted to join really and
um, we were all freshers and it was um
created by the people in second year who
were on the ACS committee and they were
just like
find you on like Twitter, or Instagram, or
Whatsapp, or wherever,
and they would just add you to a really
big Whatsapp group chat full of people
who you're gonna meet in September.
So that really did ease off the pressure
a lot because I realized that oh
actually there's gonna be people here
that are gonna vibe with me and that
like you know I can meet and all that
sort of stuff.
So yeah ACS was a huge huge huge help um
in
making me feel very much comfortable in
university. I don't know about anybody
else but I heard a lot of horror stories
about
university halls, sharing kitchens and
accommodations with people,
racism, discrimination, and all the stuff
that you're just not going to be looking
forward to.
Um thankfully for me I had an amazing
experience in my halls.
In the ACS group chat there were a lot
of people who were deciding like
where they would want to stay first
choice and stuff and obviously you do
get to meet people there
and make friends as well. So even if you
don't get the accommodation you want you
can just always ask in there like oh
guys who's staying here, who's staying
there,
and everybody's like kind and helpful
for the most part anyway. So I would say
that that kind of does make it easy for
you if you are feeling a bit
apprehensive or a bit nervous.
Um my main thing was just that I didn't
want to be singled out and I didn't want
to feel like
isolated and I can 100% say that thanks
to societies like
ACS or um even the people in my halls
when it came to like going out and
socializing they'd always like knock on
doors.
If I were to give any tips at all for
anybody who is like me
and wanting to come to Loughborough or
it's just a bit nervous about
fitting in and you know not having as
much of a reputation as other
universities do when it comes to like
black people or ACS or anything of that
sort. I would just say be very very open
to meeting new people.
Um look around for like ACS group chats
or group chats similar to that. There's a
lot of different societies that
are like following that whole like we'll
make a big group chat, we'll get
everybody involved, we'll let you know
what you need to know.
Definitely do follow those platforms on
social media um,
be involved in their group chats, go to
events and meet new people.
As well as that definitely ask people
you know who are at Loughborough or like
the university you want to go to
if they know anybody who's going to be
like an incoming fresher or like who's
already there who can like you know help
you find your feet and stuff,
and yeah I think that's it from me. If
you've enjoyed this video please give it
a huge thumbs up.
Make sure you subscribe to the Loughborough
University YouTube channel. If you want
to see more of my face I have a YouTube
channel Darling Demitta it's going to be
the link in the description box below.
So make sure you subscribe and yeah
thank you guys so much for watching
and bye.